Paris has narrowly beaten London to be ranked as the top spot for investors in student property , according to research by the Knight Frank.

London missed out on the top spot for student housing due to the high cost of living; it is followed by Vienna, Dublin and Barcelona.

James Pullan, head of student property, Knight Frank, commented: “Student accommodation in the UK has delivered solid and consistent returns throughout every year of the economic downturn, thereby attracting significant volumes of international equity and institutional debt into the sector.”

The number of students travelling overseas to attend university has been rising steadily in recent decades, and this trend is set to continue. Just as the world’s economies have become more globalised, with the relaxation of trade barriers, education has also become a global commodity.

Students now seek out the best educational institutions across the globe. The factors that lie behind this trend are the rise of the middle classes in emerging economies, especially Asia, along with the growing acceptance of international higher education qualifications across the world.

Pullan added: “The rise in global student mobility has created an excellent opportunity for investment in key European cities and is a long-term trend that is set to continue. This structural shift in the make-up of student populations has significant consequences for cities that play host to the world’s best universities, and throws up key opportunities for developers and operators.”